A politician has described as "hard to believe" the fact that a young man's lifetime ambition could be jeopardy over a child’s train ticket

A young man claims his lifetime ambition of joining the Royal Navy has been put in jeopardy because he was mistakenly sold a child’s train ticket by a conductor.

Jordan Elliott, 20, has trained for three years in preparation for a naval career.

Last Sunday he travelled to Plymouth to take up the place he was offered as a fresh recruit.

But he says he was sent home after telling Navy officials he had been summonsed to appear in court next month for not having a valid rail ticket.

He says the prosecution by an investigations company contracted to Arriva Trains Wales stems from an incident on New Year’s Eve last year when he travelled by train from his home in Treorchy to Cardiff’s Queen Street station.

He said: “There are no ticket machines or booking office at Treorchy station, and the normal thing is to buy your ticket on the train.

“I asked the conductor for a ticket to Queen Street, handed over a note and put the ticket and change in my pocket.

“When I got to Queen Street there were some men collecting tickets. One of them took mine and saw it was a ticket for a child. I didn’t realise that was the case until then, because I’d put it straight in my pocket when I bought it.

“I was told it was invalid, but when I told them it had been given to me by a conductor, who had obviously made a mistake, they weren’t interested. I’m not sure whether I paid the adult fare or child fare, because I put the change into my pocket without looking at it. They wouldn’t accept the difference of £2.50 between a child fare and adult fare when I offered to pay it.”

Now Mr Elliott is unsure whether the dream of joining the navy he’s had since childhood will be realised.

“They told me at Plymouth I’d have to go home until this is sorted out,” he said. “If I’m convicted I wouldn’t be able to apply again for another five years.

“I’m absolutely gutted, and so is the rest of my family.”

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, who represents South Wales Central as an AM, said: “It is hard to believe that somebody’s career is in jeopardy over a train fare that was clearly issued in an error on the part of the conductor.

“When Jordan offered to pay the difference at the end of his journey that should have been the end of the matter. To end up in a situation where he is being summonsed to court six months on and, as a result, missing out on his naval training after three years of waiting and preparation really is over the top.

“The heavy-handed behaviour of Transport Investigations Limited in this episode is a disappointment. I have called on this company to re-consider their position on this as a matter of urgency.

“I have also written to the chief executive of Arriva Trains Wales to make them aware of the unacceptable behaviour of a private company that acts on their behalf.

“I sincerely hope this matter can be resolved speedily so that Jordan can carry on with his career.”

A woman who answered the phone at Transport Investigations’ office in March, Cambridgeshire, said she was aware of the case but could not comment. She said she would ask a colleague to call us, but no-one did so. The company did not respond to an email message.

A spokeswoman for Arriva Trains Wales said: “Transport Investigations Ltd work on behalf of Arriva Trains Wales to implement legislation designed to protect rail passengers and companies from fare evasion.

“Arriva Trains Wales goes to great lengths to inform passengers of their obligations to buy the correct ticket for their journey but is unable to comment on the details of any specific cases due to the legal process.”

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.